Tuesday, 13 June 2017

Natural Child will be heading out on tour in support of Dancin' With Wolves, with another animal band, Futurebirds.
Tour dates:
01/17 - Breckenridge, CO @ three20south *
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It’s time once again! The 21st annual AthFest Music & Arts Festival is coming up Friday June 23 – Sunday June 25, 2017 in Athens, GA. AthFest features music from local, regional and national acts on 3 outdoor stages, as well as in a plethora of air-conditioned Athens venues on the AthFest Club Crawl Friday and Saturday nights.

The Club Crawl features of Montreal, Muuy Biien, Cindy Wilson (of the B-52’s) and Lazer/Wulf, among many others.

The full schedule is on athfest.com and the Walkabout app will help festival-goers find and plan the shows they want to see.

Club Crawl wristbands, VIP tickets and information are available online at athfest.com or in person at the festival merchandise tent, Club Crawl venues during the Club Crawl, and in advance at Wuxtry Records at 197 E. Clayton St., Low Yo Yo Stuff Records at 261 W. Washington St., the Athens Welcome Center at 280 E. Dougherty St. and Georgia Theatre at 215 N. Lumpkin St., all located in Athens.

AthFest is a fundraiser for AthFest Educates, whose mission is to advance high-quality music and arts education for local youth and the Athens community through direct support of school and community-based programs and events, including this annual music and arts festival.

One of the best live band Surfer Blood will be returning to Minneapolis for the 1000th time (in truth, probably their ninth time) in support of the band's third album 1000 Palms, out now on Joyful Noise.
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The last time we saw this inventive live band, I mentioned that of Montreal will be releasing Aureate Gloom (Polyvinyl Records). Now that it's getting a
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AthFest is a well-oiled machine, and they run a tight ship. The 19th annual installment of this festival- which ran from Friday June 26 through Sunday June 28, 2015 in Athens, GA- was no exception. I was impressed at how the bookers, organizers and- most of all- the stage crews were able to stagger the bands just so; there was no overlap between any bands on the outdoor stages and therefore no cacophony. None of the Club Crawl bands started playing until after the last outdoor acts for each evening had ended their sets, so we festivalgoers at AthFest 2015 were able to take in music well into the night.

Of Montreal: Kevin Barnes

photo: Cary Whitley

I think it was because of this tight schedule that Kevin Barnes did not have time for wardrobe changes during his set with Of Montreal on Saturday, June 27. He chose to wear a simple turquoise poncho with multicolored stripes that came together in a ‘V’ shape, a floppy hat, a large, blocky pair of sunglasses and a simple pair of white shorts one might wear when going for a jog. These items he kept on for the entire set.

The singer seemed unfazed as angels drifted onto the stage and spread their gigantic wings, as people holding white circular discs held them up to reveal projected images, even as two bunny rabbits had a boxing match right beside him, after which they peeled off both their gloves and their jumpsuits to reveal large, bobbing fake breasts. It was amazing. And what a beautiful voice that man has. I can remember when Kevin Barnes was a fledgling musician in mid 1990s Athens, and now it’s hard to imagine a time before the birth of his psychedelic indie pop juggernaut Of Montreal.

Of Montreal

photo: Cary Whitley

Roughly 15 years after I last saw Of Montreal play, they kicked off their AthFest 2015 show with a man in a gorilla mask coming onto the stage and addressing us with the spoken intro to Prince’s Let’s Go Crazy. Then another man in a red leotard, face mask and cape came up to ask the crowd if we’d ever considered what it means to live in Athens- a bubble of liberal thinking surrounded by the conservative towns and counties of the deep south. Then came his dire warning: that our anomaly of a town is no accident. That we’re here in this bubble being watched. That living in Athens is like being on The Truman Show. It’s all staged and none of it is real. A twinkling toy drone flying overhead seemed to validate this paranoid theory. Then Of Montreal took the stage and the magic happened.

In addition to our Of Montreal experience, my friend and photographer Cary Whitley and I saw some amazing bands at AthFest 2015. All of the excellent photos from this weekend were taken by him.

Zenith Blue

photo: Cary Whitley

On Friday June 26 we convened at the KidsFest stage to see a band featured in the Up Next Showcase, which spotlights the best of Athens’ teenage up-and-comers. The band was Zenith Blue (formerly known as Feedback), a tight band of teenage male musicians fronted by Katie Bortle- a charismatic female singer with a lot of heart, which she pours liberally into her powerful vocal delivery. I have a strong feeling that this band will thrive and grow to join the pantheon of Athens greats.

Tunabunny

photo: Cary Whitley

Later that night at Little Kings Shuffle Club, Athens’ own Tunabunny brought to mind the Riot Grrrl spirit as Mary Jane Hassell and Brigette Adair Herron traded off on lead vocals, both while playing a mean guitar. The band describes itself as “transcendental dance pop,” and they indeed brought out in this crowd a state of transcendent joy.

In the wee hours I went to Flicker Bar to catch some post-punk psychedelic noise pop as played by Athens music veterans Grape Soda. Normally a two-piece consisting of brothers Ryan and Mat (with one ‘t’) Lewis, for this show they added two new members including Bill Fortenberry on bass and Ryan Vogel on Moog keyboard and arpeggiator. Ryan plays the drums- with gusto- and Mat deftly handles lead vocals and Farfisa keyboard.

On Saturday July 27, I went to the 40 Watt Club to see Athens’ much lauded punk pop powerhouse, the female-fronted Monsoon. They did not disappoint. Sienna Chandler moves about the stage while singing and playing her guitar with the fierce energy of an actual monsoon; so the name fits.

On Sunday June 28, I saw the final performance of the festival, a straight-ahead rock band known as The Baseball Project. The band features R.E.M.’s Mike Mills on guitar, and all their songs are about baseball. The highlight of the evening was when R.E.M.’s former drummer Bill Berry came onstage with a tamborine and joined Mike Mills on vocals for the R.E.M. classic, Don’t Go Back to Rockville.

Surfer Blood dominated the Georgia Theatre

I have saved what- in my opinion- is the best performance of the festival for last. I am speaking- of course- of Surfer Blood. On Saturday June 27, Surfer Blood dominated the Georgia Theatre and everyone lucky enough to be inside. It was like the second coming of The Beach Boys, with a Weezer-style twist. John Paul Pitts’ enchanting croon took me completely by surprise and transported me to the time I saw Brian Wilson perform Pet Sounds at Chastain Park in Atlanta. Then I remembered the first time I saw Weezer, when The Sweater Song was their first and only single. Taking in my first taste of Surfer Blood, I felt as if I was seeing indie rock history being made all over again, and I was honored to bear witness to such a gift. I am grateful to everyone who encouraged me to see this alternative indie rock band from West Palm Beach, Florida. They are masters of catchy guitar hooks and choruses that you can’t stop singing, much less forget.

As excitement for the 19th annual AthFest Music and Arts Festival mounts, AthFest Educates, the organization behind the three day long celebration of Athens’ music and art scene, released the full line-up for the free outdoor stages. …

Vu and Dena talked about Athfest 2015 on W♥M Radio.

Topics/Quiz:

BB King passed away on May 14 at age 89

Mike Mills & Peter Buck, of R.E.M., are in a band called The Baseball Project

Denitza Torodrova, aka DENA, released Flash in March 2014.
The Berlin based singer just played Woman Of The World Festival on May 15, 2015.

Thom Yorke

Thom Yorke (from Radiohead) had his image stolen and used in Russia to advertise for medicine (apparently Thom looks unwell), according to @local_stigmatic: russia. "we will help you to forget about your headache and insomnia"

I caught Deerhoof in 2012 and noted how fun it was to see the band in person. I also wrote that it was unbelievable .…

Of Montreal and Deerhoof are currently touring together under one bill, heading towards SXSW 2015 in Austin, Texas. They recently stopped by First Avenue in Minneapolis on Sunday, March 15th.
I've seen both bands live before and already knew to expect an unbelievable show.... and, of course, both bands delivered.

Deerhoof

Based on the longer than usual opening set (55 minutes), this was a co-headliner tour, with Deerhoof first on stage. If you've never heard of Deerhoof, they are a San Francisco band with a wide mixture of sound, from art-punk to pure pop to avant-garde to minimalistic to noise.... their music sounds just as strange as the band, currently fronted by Japanese singer/guitarist Satomi Matsuzaki.

The 21-year-old band is currently touring in support of their 12th studio album La Isla Bonita, whose title may indicate their pop influence of Madonna. When asked about the pop sound in the new album, drummer Greg Saunier said it was because they were trying to "sound like Joan Jett or Janet Jackson".

Of course, you have to take what Saunier say with a grain of salt, because mid-way during Deerhoof's set, Saunier took over the mic and started talking about really random topics. For example, he was sure to remember to not forget the water - hearing some fans in Boston (who was also in the audience on Sunday). The other item was that he needed to tie his shoe laces. The one relevant thing the drummer said was that guitarist John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez used to live in Minneapolis, which got big cheers of approval from the audience.

The band sounded great, although sometime I had a hard time telling if Deerhoof's songs were English or Japanese songs as Matsuzaki has a strong accent. Otherwise, this was a typical Deerhoof show, with plenty of dancing and sometime the odd improvisation on drummer Saunier's part.

of Montreal

If you've never seen Georgia's of Montreal live, you need to do yourself a favor and check them out. Their music is psychedelic pop (think psychedelic-era Beatles), but the best part of their show is that they have dedicated dancers/performers who are often in costumes, in tune with a light/projection show. Some people say it's a distraction from the music, but who cares, I think it is such a fun show.

As usual their show often begins with an announcer/hypeman who would introduce singer Kevin Barnes. Barnes came on stage dressed as a woman, complete with makeup and women's shoes. As the show goes on, we experienced two or three Barnes costume changes, with basically 80% naked by the encore.

"It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels"

It is a typical of Montreal show, except for one key difference on this tour vs the other times I've seen them: Barnes left the stage to have two of the dancer girls come on stage to sing a Kitty Wells cover song, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels". The country/western tune, I felt was a nice break than the usual singalong pop songs from Barnes.

Highlight of the show was their final song, "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse". The dancers came on stage to blow feathers into the audience. The audience loved it by their chaotic roar and it was really a great way to end the show.

Although many fans in the audience have seen the band live on numerous occasions, I did talked to an "of Montreal virgin" after the show and he told me that there were things on stage that he's never ever seen, referencing the Abe Lincoln boxing with the topless poodles (an image that cannot be forgotten any time soon). As weird as that sound, he's definitely going to see of Montreal again when they come back to town.

Again, this is an excellent team-up. If you like one of the band, chances are you'll like them both. of Montreal's Aureate Gloom and Deerhoof's La Isla Bonita are both out now on Polyvinyl Records.

Wednesday, 04 March 2015

Up and coming Los Angeles pop band Echosmith, makes a brief (and free) promotional 5pm stop at Cities 97’s Oake on the Water, this week located at Tally’s Dockside in White Bear Lake. The group is riding high with current single …

One of my favorite bands, The Colourist (who I randomly caught at a live show with Youngblood Hawke in 2013 and they blew me away with their really catchy pop songs), will be back in Minneapolis... this time supporting Echosmith. This isn't new information, as we broke the story in December 2014.

Echosmith is touring in support of Talking Dreams, which came out last year on Warner Bros. The Colourist has a 2014 self-titled debut album that came out in March 2014 via Republic.

Nashville's neo-folk Neulore was up next, and they seemed eager to be on the start of this tour. Naturally, singer Adam Agin did most of the talking, however, whenever William T. Cook spoke, it was pure gold.
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We caught Nashville duo Neulore (Adam Agin and William T. Cook) last September 2014, but it would seem like the band is back in town, this time headlining the 7th Street Entry.

Opening up for the show will be Benjamin Cartel, who you may remember as the Cartel part in his band KaiserCartel.
Lara wrote about KaiserCartel's show in 2009, "If this were an episode of Sesame Street, I would say “Tonight’s concert is brought to you by the letter ‘A’ for ADORABLE.” "

The last time we saw this inventive live band, I mentioned that of Montreal will be releasing Aureate Gloom (Polyvinyl Records). Now that it's getting a little closer to its release date (March 3, 2015), I'm happy to unveil
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This is an unbelievable lineup. These two bands are two of my favorite live bands, and seeing them together on one bill is sort of amazing. My only problem is that these two bands will try and outdo each other... and that's a big win for their fans.

of Montreal as we previously mentioned are touring towards SXSW in support of Aureate Gloom (Polyvinyl Records), while Deerhoof, as we also previously mentioned, are touring in support of La Isla Bonita (Polyvinyl Records).

Sunday, 11 January 2015

SXSW 2015 is taking place March 17–22, 2015. We love this time of the year, as many bands heading down to Austin will likely stop in Minneapolis before or after the event. Keep up with more SXSW coverage at sxsw.weheartmusic.com.

One of the most creative live band, of Montreal stopped by the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis last night. The Athens-based band is currently on a Fall 2014 tour, with a pending new album Aureate Gloom in the works.
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The last time we saw this inventive live band, I mentioned that of Montreal will be releasing Aureate Gloom (Polyvinyl Records). Now that it's getting a little closer to its release date (March 3, 2015), I'm happy to unveil their cover artwork, as well talk about their upcoming tour in support of the new album. of Montreal was one of my favorite live bands, so you definitely need to see them if you have not experienced them live.

The Aureate Gloom tour will take the Athens-based band from the southeast to SXSW in Austin, and then westward bound.... and then back again to Austin in April!

UK's Gang of Four will be heading to the US in support of their latest album What Happens Next, set for release on February 24, 2015, via Metropolis Records in the USA and Canada, and Membran in Europe.
It should be noted that the upcoming album is a first without vocalist Jon King... so the title (What Happens Next?) is fitting. John Sterry (credited as Gaoler on the liner notes) will take over the vocals, and he's heard singing with Alison Mosshart from The Kills, Robbie Furze from The Big Pink, Gail Ann Dorsey, German superstar Herbert Grönemeyer and Japanese superstar Hotei.

Been hearing more and more about Wooden Wand lately. They have a couple of RSD releases, this one is a split 7" release with Catherine Irwin.
Both musicians have covered Hazel Dickens, a bluegrass singer
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Not to be confused with Canadian band Wand or Denmark's The Wands or Japanese rock band Wands or Wooden Wand (aka Wand), this the Los Angeles-based band Wand. We've previously mentioned them briefly when they toured with Ty Segall last year (2014).

Wand is back, this time touring through and around SXSW 2015, in support of their upcoming 2015 album Golem (available March 17th, 2015 on In the Red Records).

Wednesday, 12 November 2014

Lily Allen is currently in the US, touring in support of her latest album, Sheezus (Regal, Parlophone), stopping by the Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis last night. …

Vu and John recaps Rocktober 2014, plus news/rumors, and November show previews.

News

Macaulay Culkin is not dead. He's in a cover band The Pizza Underground (a Velvet Underground cover band... but the subject matter are all replaced by pizzas). The Pizza Underground was recently in Minneapolis, playing a show with Har Mar Superstar... currently in Texas.

Rumor: Could Liam and Noel be getting back together? With Beady Eye's break up, via twitter.com/liamgallagher, the rumors are coming fast and furious. Noel, on the other hand has a new Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds coming out early 2015 called Chasing Yesterday (Sour Mash Records).

Although the show is at the Cedar Cultural Center, it's actually a First Avenue show. The last time Of Montreal played in Minneapolis, it was also at the Cedar last year, which Jamie …

One of the most creative live band, of Montreal stopped by the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis last night. The Athens-based band is currently on a Fall 2014 tour, with a pending new album Aureate Gloom in the works.

Pillar Point

Scott Reitherman's Pillar Point started the evening off, playing tracks like "Echoes" and set closer "Black Hole" from his self-titled debut album from Polyvinyl. Reitherman's other side project, Throw Me the Statue, a lo-fi indie pop group that might have broken up, since their last album was released in 2009. With Pillar Point, it would seem that Reitherman is going for synthpop/new wave or new romantics music. Think Human League or Roxy Music or early Duran Duran, and you get the idea.

Their live show included another keyboardist and drummer and they took advantage of the movie projection that of Montreal set up for their show, to play videos over their songs. They also had a fog machine, which came and went throughout their brief set.

My favorite song off their set was "Touch", purely for their use of the sampled loops and beats which reminded me of a new wave disco song.

of Montreal

What can I say for of Montreal? They are one of the best live band, thanks to their theatrical efforts. In addition to the musicians, they also employed three 'dancers' who appear periodically in various costumes on stage. From flag boxers to scary ghosts to "eyeball" monster... it's a lot of fun to watch.

Their show started with a lengthy introduction for singer Kevin Barnes, who showed up in a 'wedding' dress, wig, and veil. He actually stayed in costume for the duration of their show, with only a costume change for the encore.

They said they have the new album recorded and ready to go, and showcased one of the new songs, "Last Rites at the Jane Hotel" for us.
Other highlight was they played a the first few chords of the Beatles' "Day Tripper" right before "Hegira Émigré", which got a few people in the audience excited, but alas they did not do the full cover.

Setlist

When of Montreal came back for the encore, they also had another long introduction by the same masked MC when they started their show. He sang "Don't F**** the Candyman", which isn't on the setlist and it's probably just a joke song they made up... but it was long enough that I put it on the setlist.

You should definitely check out of Montreal anytime they play in your city. Even if you don't like their music, they are sure a lot of fun on stage. Look for Aureate Gloom in the near future on Polyvinyl Records.

Friday, 03 October 2014

A cold and rainy night outside was in stark contrast to the hot and crowded basement bar of Mill City Nights, where LA-based buzz band Vintage Trouble and openers Leogun, each shook the rafters inside the sold-out tiny club. …

Here are shows taking place in Minneapolis/St Paul on October 5 to October 7, 2014.

Over at Saint Paul's Turf Club on Sunday are Colony House and Knox Hamilton co-headlining show.

Here are some quick Colony House facts: #1 most played and downloaded single on SiriusXM Alt Nation,
#3 Billboard Heatseekers Charts, and
#7 on iTunes Alternative Rock Charts. Colony House also recently covered Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe", which you can watch YouTube.

Here are some quick Knox Hamilton facts: from Little Rock, Arkansas, and their new single "Work it Out" was #2 on SiriusXM’s Alt18 (for at least four weeks straight).

Also listed on the bill for the Minnesota show is Cheerleader, described as a bedroom project of longtime friends and roommates Joe Haller and Chris Duran... from Philadelphia.

Although the show is at the Cedar Cultural Center, it's actually a First Avenue show. The last time Of Montreal played in Minneapolis, it was also at the Cedar last year, which Jamie described as, "a wildly inventive show" with balloons, "topless gremlins", and a horse-like contraption.

Of Montreal will be touring in support of their forthcoming album Aureate Gloom, which doesn't have a release date, at this time.

Opening up the show will be Pillar Point, who is out on their first US tour this fall. Pillar Point (Scott Reitherman) will be likely playing tracks from his self-titled debut album.

It's always good to see that Tennis will be back in Minneapolis on October 7th, celebrating their new album Ritual In Repeat (which came out September 9th on Communion Records). The husband/wife duo (Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley) is fresh off their sold-out North American tour with Haim.

Opening for Tennis will be Pure Bathing Culture. You may recall that Jessie caught the Portland-based band in Los Angeles earlier this year and reported, "Sarah Versprille’s souring, angelic vocals and Daniel Hindman’s incandescent guitar solos, this powerfully divine foursome sets the tone for a truly ethereal concert experience. I’m not sure how she does it, but Sarah makes a mullet look completely modern AND rad."

Thursday, 16 May 2013

Have you heard of NPR Tiny Desk Concert? This is basically a live performance in an office/desk area. Check out of Montreal's live performance at npr.org as they play three songs: "Feminine Effects", "Imbecile Rages", and "Amphibian Days".…

Of Montreal put on a wildly inventive show at the Cedar Cultural Center last night, May 15, with Houston quintet Wild Moccasins opening.

Fans in-the-know told me that this would be a toned down show, so I tried to manage my expectations waiting for Of Montreal to take the stage. Within the first handful of songs, balloons had been sent into the crowd, topless gremlins had taken the stage, and frontman Kevin Barnes had ridden a horse-like contraption through the audience. “And this isn’t even the encore!” exclaimed the Cedar volunteer next to me as we watched feathers being shot out into the crowd. The gimmicks might have been distracting from what was—without question—really great music if it weren’t for the fact that the entire band was having a really, really good time.

You couldn’t miss the amusement on keyboardist Dottie Alexander’s face as two giant figures covered in stuffed animals took the stage. What it all meant? I’m not too entirely sure, but that didn’t seem to be the point. The point, it seems, was just to have a good time. As Kevin Barnes told the crowd as he left the stage, “I hope you all had a good time. I had a f*cking awesome time.”